who uses colour seconds???

[mistahead]

i was thinkin of ordering some from technolux i dont know anyone who uses em. is there any colors to stay away from are they 100 % useable?? 5$ a lb sounds pretty killer!! almost to good to be tru kinda shit!!!

[Utopian Brain]

I dont know who technolux is. But seconds and odds can be tricky. they can sometimes just be uneven pulls of a color. but alot of times there are foreign debris in the glass, or air bubbles. you could probably snip off the parts that ere shit and get alot of good color for ure cash. but i have never used anying but firsts. i dont like to think about not getting the perfect even pull. im just a color snob. i do believe that the ingredients count to get a super premium quality end product tho.
Heres waht i say, i know friends who rage prodo, and arent getting whatt hey should befor their glass anyway, so they use seconds. most people cant tell. especially the dicky shop guy who doesnt know shit n e way. but u know. and if your making something nice, i wouldnt use seconds, now im talking like a day or 2 day piece.
but if it doesnt matter anyway fuck wasting ure money on good color, u might as welll save sxome cash buddy
i hope this helps, again ive seen nice seconds and ive seen terrible seconds that i couldnt imagie using, but to each his own yanno

[bc]

you can trrust technolux, great company, but the seconds, well, their seconds. You could call an ask. Ask for brian, he wont try to sell you, he'll steer you in the right direction.

[Julian]

Sometimes, you get a decent section of color in seconds.
Usually the glass is such that I would not use it in any piece in which I was concerned about quality. More bubbles, the chance of an overlooked problematic stone, more boiling...

So, as UT is saying above, if you slap out production stuff that you don't even get enough money for, fine. But if you need your work to look the best, you should probably pay for quality glass as the seconds will waste some time.

They're great if you are doing something like learning to make boro mandrel beads, and a bunch is going to end up wasted anyway.

[Udai Hussien]

Seconds rule... they are just odd colored, but part of lamping is shaping, so why not save a few bucks?

[IrieGuy05]

NS crayon 2nds and odds are pointless, they boil and have no color density what so ever. Amber purple 2nds I've got have been nice. Colors like butterscotch, carmel, cobalts and rubies tend to be ok in 2nds.
Odds are usually better for most other colors, and their not really that much more a pound when you get the 5lb bundles.

just wanted to add all these people who only use firsts are missing out on a huge savings on color that is near firsts if they get odds.

[Stagger Lee]

I have to say it's kind of hit and miss. By the time you go through the 2nds and trash the true crap. you could have bought odds or first

[timinny420]

im using all odds and seconds or shorts cuz i see no need to spend 40-60$ a # for stuff that i am trying to make - once my shaping and form are to where im happy i will be buying first quality and be able to get a better selection - but the amount i save using 2nds and odds is worth it

[Nightcat]

I'm with Dwaine and timinny on this one. I am still learning so I make a lot of scrap. Why pay for perfect color when my vessels are still looking like crap? I have been buying more and more first quality rods lately because I seem to be on a growth spurt. I am getting better at the things I attempt. Once I get my technique down I switch to the good stuff.

I have been buying the "Bag-O-Bits" from Glass Alchemy and that is great stuff to practice with. You get some crazy effects because you can't tell some colors apart until you have worked them. I made a long rod out of a bunch of blue bits and I got this stripey effect because some of the rods has silver and lustered and some didn't. Same with the black looking bits, you never know what you have until you use those too.

~Ross~

[jiminyrootkit]

i use almost exclusively 2nds and odds.
the exceptions being disco sparkle and unobtanium (only because i can't get them in 2nds)
if someone has the hookup on o.t. disco sparkle please please PM me.
i just can't justify using a $50/lb item when a $5/lb item yields basically the same results.
sure, the color or shape is off a touch sometimes, but it's a TENTH of the cost!!!
very rarely do i get even a full rod that i can't use for SOMETHING.
to summerize:
the color won't be perfect, but it will be color. generally even the same color ;)
the rods may or may not be perfect, they will even be (almost) fats from time to time.

it costs 1/10 as much as firsts......spend as much as you would've on one LB of firsts and try em out.....you'll have 10lb to fuck around with and see if they are for you.
-f

ps. technolux are some stand-up guys, they've ALWAYS been good to me. give em a shot, i very much doubt you'll be dissapointed.

[Stagger Lee]

Why pay for perfect color when my vessels are still looking like crap? I have been buying more and more first quality rods lately because I seem to be on a growth spurt. I am getting better at the things I attempt.

I found that alot of my screw ups were from using crappy 2nds (lots of seeds, air bubbles, uneven pulls, thinning).

I still use some 2nds, but I pick through them and get the good looking ones. And I only use them when trying a new tech or for straight up prodo.

btw.... I drive to the glass supplier now, so it makes it easier to see the rods. Thanks Mountain Glass

[rhodium]

lately i have been feeling a bit broke from drastically reducing my in society work time. i have also been progressively running out of pretty much all of the colors that i usually grab for, and haven't ordered any supplies in a while. now i am starting to run out of the colors that i bought and have absolutely despised upon their purchase of several years ago, and was considering the seconds odds route. i am curious, are there really that many stones and refractory deposits in the glass or is it just more cosmetics, seeds, larger bubbles, and uneven rods. most of the stuff i do usually starts with a mashed up bunch of whatever anyhow so uniformity is unimportant to me whereas the stones are more of a concern. just kinda scared of buying a bunch of really nasty shit, like those bags of dichro that used to be on ebay. ;)

[Stagger Lee]

like those bags of dichro that used to be on ebay

HAHA that stuff was total bunk. I've got some for sale if anyone wants it.

Like I said, it kind of hit and miss. I've gotten 2nds that were good, then I've bought 2nds that were garbage. I've also bought 1st that were crap and should have been 3rds or something. That why I buy my 2nds and odds "in person". Unless it's the GA sale. I've always had pretty good results with them. But you DO get what you pay for.

[rhodium]

culling seconds in person eh? sounds fun... is there anyone in CT or in the northeast that will let me do that... or even just pick out firsts in person would be sweet. sounds like the better route to go with the whole concept either way.

[goboroglass]

you can pick out firsts in person at The Hempest in North Hampton, MA, or the Volta Gallery in Boston. Bit of a drive, but its like being a kid in a candy store...

[blazeoffire]

I have used seconds from GA before. I still have some of it. It works good for learning, but
don't expect the firsts to act the same way as the seconds once you switch over.
What i mean is you learn how to work a certain color in seconds, then when you get firsts it doesn't always act the same.
My 2 cents is learn with what you are going to use later!!!!!! This will save time and time is money.
Jesse

[Lambs Bread]

or hempest in vermont or any hempest near u

[Monkythrowpoop]

I use seconds all the time. I picked up a bunch during that GA sale. As long as you use them for the right things then they're fine. Just go through when you get it and seperate the pretty nice rods that you can use from the crap that you'll pull into stringers. I've had some really gross chunks of color that made me $$ once I pulled them into stringers. I had one color where all of the sticks were a little bit flattened, but they were great for backing marbles because they took less heat to wrap around the marble. It's all about finding uses for the odd shaped pieces. I say go for it, save some $$, worst comes to worst you can sell whatever's leftover here on the forum.

Ben

[jusbag]

I use a ton of odds/seconds... I love the technolux $5/lb deals... Got 10 pounds of onyx last time...

[J Howard]

the 5$ deals are the best... now there you can't go wrong. i picked up some NS ex lt. yellow like that, coated everything in sight before pulling stringer, and found some killer combos. amazon bronze over one inch rod, with an ex lt yellow overlay gave me the sickest purple ever inside out. you get some cheap color, feel like playing around, and find some cool effects without busting your wallet

[IrieGuy05]

Yo anyone know if odds or 2nds can be off in coe? I would assume the exotics and other cracky stuff would be a little bit worse, but what about others like forest green, perriwinkle/hyacinth, and the like?